Technical and economical overview

of footwear technologies

1. Introduction
The economic environment is even more uncertain and the footwear industry is subject
to constant pressure and change.
Consumers demand more innovative products of higher quality and lower price, even
when leather and other footwear materials, as well as the cost of labour are increasing.
The demand for cost reduction is the main driver for the footwear sector.
The overall cost to manufacture a shoe in the Europe (with differences in each country)
indicates that labour, material and manufacturing cost constitute 75 % of the total cost.
(Table 1
Table 1: Structure of shoe cost in Europe
Labour cost 40
Materials/components/manufacturing 35
Overhead costs + commercial & publicity 15
Installations and equipment 5
Profit and sales costs 5
Total cost of shoe 100
Easy it is to conclude the advantages of the cheap labour countries in the footwear
production. The result has been the gradual and continuous decrease in the production
of footwear in the European Union and the USA.
The automation and technology modernization can reduce significantly the direct
production costs. But in some cases the indirect costs are not affected: programming
and maintenance, productivity control operations can even increase them.
The labour costs put the US and European manufacturing firms under great pressure.
Consumers have the decisive role. They will not pay the same price for an identical shoe
commercialised by a Latin American Company or by an USA or European one.
Within this competitive scenario, the strategic decision of which kind of articles can be
produced competitively, in short and in medium/long term is fundamental. Factors like
country image, manpower skills, existence of materials and component suppliers, size of
internal market, play an important role in that strategy limiting the scope of footwear
types to be produced.
Footwear manufacturers tend to implement a strategy linked to the production of either
massive or fashion articles. If they had success they begin to create its own identity and
image.
Their brand image, marketing, management and organization skills, production and
process competencies, product characteristics will limit and/or strength their competitive
status. Any strategy once adopted cannot be easily abandoned.
The most standardized articles can be copied and manufactured in large quantities by
semi-skilled workers in low cost countries.
Some companies in developed countries compete vigorously with standardized products
while others specialize in sophisticated and fashionable ones. The great majority,
usually small and medium, concentrates mainly in manufacturing, although a few of
them try to sell directly to retailers and consumers.
Some others are not merely manufactures, but they are mainly involved in distribution
and commercialisation, coordinating value added chains stretching from design to
retailing. These companies were well succeeded in establishing efficient plants in labour
cheap countries, namely for sport shoes and other standard shoe models. These plants
use unskilled or semi-skilled labour and traditional technologies.
To compete with these low cost producers, manufactures in developed countries try
survive by cutting costs, modernizing production processes, (flexible, reprogramable and
lean production systems) and developing innovative products constantly refreshed and
manufactured in small quantities with daily orders quickly sent to the points of sales.
This implies tremendous efforts, both technical and financial, permanent alterations in
production processes, accurate and timely information on market and on consumers
trends, strong relations with suppliers of high quality materials and components, and
great ability to meet costumer’ needs promptly.
For a company producing 1000 pairs a day, the production of more than 500 new
models per year, the preparation of 4 season collections, the simultaneous
manufacturing of more than 10 different models per day are usual.
The manufacturing companies in developed countries, without the appropriate capacity
and resources to adopt an innovative and aggressive commercial strategy, try survive
acting as sub-contracted concentrated in the manufacturing operations.
The sourcing of finished footwear of the commercial and distribution companies, or of
the retailers and shops, does not favour the position of the SME producing footwear in
outside the low cost Asian Countries:
• The companies dominant in commercial and distribution have their own brands
and assume almost totally the functions of branding, marketing, product
development and purchasing of materials and components, subcontracting the
production, total or partially.
Their big orders are subcontracted, total or partially, at cheap labour countries. The
small orders placed in the neighbour countries are many times a problem with low
profit, caused by price reduction, increased administrative costs, with faster
deliveries, new tasks in labelling and improved quality without price increase; etc;
• The small retailers and independent shops place to footwear companies other
challenges demanding them innovative products, immediate and irregular
deliveries following the seasonality of the consumption, long stated periods of
payment conditioned by sales.
As a result of these strategies, the European SME work with a great variation of models
and small orders requiring new tools and programs or manual processes, as the cutting
of leather.
To survive the SMEs in developed countries tend to adopt advanced methods of
management accomplished with the use of production technologies, workplace
organization, supervising, training, product design and product engineering, production
planning, costumer relations management, etc all of them with the objectives to improve
overall business activity:
 • Reduce the production cycle time
• Reduce the work in process
• Increase flexibility and quick response deliveries
• Reduce administrative and indirect costs
• Reduce the dependence on high skilled operators (with modern technologies)
• Increase the level of customer service

2. Available technologies
Technologists tend to act as if modern technology is the solution for any problem. This
way of thinking can deviate the attention from the real and decisive factors affecting the
productivity and competitively of companies. It will be always remembered that are 3
categories of equipments:
• Equipments that all shoe manufacturing unities must use;
• Equipments that only the most updated shoe manufacturing unities can use;
• Equipments that some manufacturers say they are using only for giving a modern
image.
Equipments and technologies are tools to increase productivity and competitiveness and
not an objective in itself.
Some of the top quality and fashionable shoes are made by hand or with traditional
machines and massive shoes can also be produced in sophisticated and modern
manufacturing lines.
But in a general way technology if correctly used is of great value for the profitability of
manufacturers.
Matching and integrating technologies and equipment of diverse suppliers it is possible
to envisage a footwear company with an high automation level, (figure 1).
Figure 1: Available technologies to footwear industry
Technical level of equipments
The technical level of equipments is not the only factor that favours their utilization. The
existence of maintenance and technical assistance is so important that some equipment
has a great utilization in one manufacturing area and can be unknown in another area.
This occurs with the injection machines or with CAD/CAE/CAM systems.
The technical value of a technology or equipment is not the key factor for their
acquisition, but the economical one. For instance the cutting of moccasin uppers with
stitching holes can be technically perfect with a cutting press and special cutting dies,
but is only economically advantageous for orders above a certain amount per size. The
same is valid for automatic stitching.
The investments in the technology can deviate the company focus of other equally
important areas, as reducing the waste of materials and components, which count for
about the 40-50% of the cost of a shoe.
The technological innovations at footwear companies registered a significant and
beneficial evolution in the recent years with improved productivity, reduction of the
labour content, reduction of the required operators skills, more consistent quality, better
use of materials.
Limitations to the increase of the automation and the technological up-grade also exist:
• The reduction in labour costs can not be compensating,
• The strategy of the commercialisation and distribution companies favours the
production moving more than automation,
• The high cost of the technologies and the qualified requirement of technicians to
program them, does not favour its acquisition by SME - small e median
enterprises.

Integration level
Another important aspect in the use of technologies is the level of integration
recommended, varying from the using of individual machines without any special
integration or transfer of information, or by the implementation of islands of automation
in automatic stitching, leather cutting, lasting processes; roughing, applying of adhesive,
drying and reactivation, etc. just to the implementation of automatic production lines with
robots.
The implementation of high levels of integration needs specialized human resources.
The training of skilled operators can be problematic and cost a great percentage of the
technology costs before its full utilization.
The technologies with more impact in the production sections, excluding the solutions
for the areas of the planning and management, design and engineering (CAD/CAE
systems), marketing, quality, are showed in table 2
Table 2: Technologies for production sections
Technological Area System/Equipment
• Logistic • Material and component warehouses (stored in boxes,
paletes, boards, etc.)
• Warehouses for finished shoes( in boxes, cartons, pallets,
etc.)
• Work in progress warehouses (normally over the production
lines)
• Systems for dispatching and/or automatic reception of
materials, components and finished products
• Production management • Production balancing and simulation systems
• Shop Floor control systems l
• Cutting • Automatic cutting systems: by knife, water jet, laser
• Press with cutting dies
• Stitching • Stitching machines with productivity devices like underbed
thread trimming, needle positioning,
• Computer controlled stitching machines with pallets.
• Assembly • Lasting conveyors integrating heat oven, freezers, etc.
• Automatic: machines for toe, seat and side lasting, to apply
adhesives,
• Machines with robot: to side and bottom upper roughing,
apply adhesive,
• Integrated lines for injection and cemented shoes.
Considering the currently available technologies it is possible systemise some islands of
automation, for grouped operations (table 3).

Table 3: Islands of automation

Island of Manufacturing Advantages / disadvantages
automation operations
Pattern • Design • Rigour
engineering • Pattern development and scale • Rationalization of tools and
• Tooling design and sample model engineering
prototyping • Increased administrative and
• Programming CNC machines technical tasks
• · PDM • Need of technicians with new
• Model costing qualification
• High level of investment
Prototyping of • Design and engineering • Rigour
lasts, cutting dies, • Sample prototyping • Rationalization of tools
sole moulds • CNC files for milling machines
• Increased complexity
• Need of technicians with new
qualification
• High level of investment
Logistic • Reception, storage and • Reducing of labour content
distributing of materials and (50-70%)
components • Beter retrieval and
• Linking and transfer between management of data
machines and production • Increased administrative and
sections technical tasks
• Work in progress storage • Need of technicians with new
system qualification
• High level of investment
Automatic cutting • Semi-automatic grading of • Semi-automatic grading of
leathers leathers and classification of
• Leather measuring (total and by suppliers
quality areas) • Reducing of labour content
• Automatic nesting (cut plans) (20-30%)
• Cutting • Elimination of cutting dies
• Production control • Gain of leather (5-10%)
• Increased administrative and
technical tasks

Automatic • Design and production of pallets
Stitching • Programming of stitching
machines
• Junction and stitching of several
pieces
Assembly • Humidification of uppers
• Toe lasting
• Seat and side lasting
• Heat last stabilization
• High level of investment
• Reducing of labour content
with automatic machines (30-
50%)
• Reducing of labour content
with stitching devices at
traditional machines (12-20%)
• Cost of pallets (economical
viability to quantities above
5000 pairs per pallet)
• Investment
• Reducing of complexity and
labour content (20-30%)
• Increased productivity and
flexibility
• Increased quality

• Investment
Cementing and • Chemical halogenation of soles • Reducing of complexity and
surface • Mechanical roughing of uppers labour content
preparation • Applying of adhesive • Increased productivity
• Drying • Reduction of adhesive
• Reactivation consumption
• Press
• Time of programming (in case
of robots)
• Investment
Direct injection/ • Application of release agent • Reducing of complexity and
vulcanisation • Roughing of uppers labour content
• Application of adhesive • Increased productivity
• Injection
• Last removal • Time of programming (in case
• Sole trimming of robots)
• Shoe finish • High investment
• High cost of molds
• Economical viability only to big
orders
• High commercial risk
3. Overview of footwear technologies

3.1. The Management systems

Typically the global cycle production time of a fashion shoe can be about 40 minutes per
pair. But the permanence at factory can take more than 4 days, i.e. less than 2%. These
non-productive and non-added value operations cost money and occupy production
resources.
The utilisation of efficient production planning and controlling systems can manage the
excessive work levels that SMEs have nowadays with the production of small orders,
the deliveries to different point of sales, the sourcing of raw materials, components and
accessories from different suppliers, etc.
The implementation of such a system with a lean production philosophy can:
• Reduce the production cycle time by 75%
• Reduce work in progress by 75%
• Increase productivity by 10-15%
• Reduce manufacturing space by 25%
• Reduce quality faults by 50%
The production of small orders and even only one pair needs that every one is
committed with quality. Total quality management systems according ISO 9000 standard
can assure the required quality.

3.2. The Logistic systems

The logistic operations inside the companies are assuming an increased complexity as a
result of the:
• High number of different models in production,
• High number of materials and components used in every shoe,
• External subcontracting of shoe uppers,
• Inputs and outputs to and from warehouses,
• Diversity of the work in progress in manufacturing lines,
• Distribution of materials between working posts
• Dispatching of shoes in small quantities for different and numerous points of sale.
The labour costs of persons involved on the logistic operations are increasing and
actually they can represent about 10% of the salaries. The complexity of the operations
is equally a source for manufacturing faults and productivity problems.
The work in process can represent also several times the daily production. On well-
organized factories, manufacturing the entire shoe by the cemented method, 5 days of
work in process is adequate. High figures can be a signal of inefficiency. But where
subcontracting occurs extra work in progress is required.
The footwear industry can use adequate technical solutions for the storage, distribuition
into production and delivering operations (figures 2-5), allowing:
• A significant reduction of labour on materials reception, materials distribution
between sections and machines, expedition to other stores, etc,
• Better information on existences, orders, lack of materials, delay on provisions,
productivity analysis.
Figure 2: Automatic warehouse for raw-materials and components

Figure 3: Automatic warehouse work in progress (over the productive lines)

Figure 4: Automatic stitching conveyor

Figure 5: Automatic conveyor for assembly lines

The software of logistic applications provide a wide range of real time information:
• Input and output of the materials, components and finished shoes,
• Storage time of each material,
• Productivity per operator,
• Materials needs and availabilities per order, models and for defined periods,
• Stock management of the row materials and components,
• Management of subcontracted components,
• Balancing of the productive operations and neck points previsions,
• Management of materials and components supply ruptures

3.3 The cutting technologies

The cutting organization

A relevant aspect of the cutting process is that the cost of material is several times
higher than the labour cost. Even in high labour cost countries the value of leather is at
least ten times the corresponding labour cost. In low labour countries this ratio is far
higher. So the most important is to cut with the minimum of material wastage.
More important than the technology and equipment used is a correct process
organization for:
• Designing the models correctly with adequate size and good interlocking of
pieces, limited stitching and lasting margins;
• Engineering of models using standard patterns for more than one style;
• Measuring and classification of leather supplies,
• Controlling the amount of leather sent to cutters;
• Controlling the amount of leather received from the cutters
• Inspecting the quality of cut pieces
Adequate training is fundamental for cutting workers. The selection of the best
interlocking of the press knives, the necessity of considering the directional and quality
constraints are key competences of cutters. The production and material utilisation give
variable results from each cutter.
Experience shows that differences in leather saving can vary between 5-10%

Measuring and grading of leather

An automatic system like the DigiLeather (Fig. 6) can measure automatically the global
area of a leather, the useful area (without defects) and the sum of the areas with defects
of level 1, level 2, level 3 and so on.
 Figure 6. Automatic leather measuring and grading

The same system can be used to measure the amount of leather returned to
warehouse.
Measuring the area of leathers supplied by tanneries against the area indicated and
marked on leathers, gives in general differences not less than 2%.

Press cutting
The cutting by press with cutting dies (press knives) is the most common cutting
method. It is an inexpressive cost operation for massive manufacturing. The swing arm
press is mainly used in leather upper cutting. The travelling head press or the beam
press are more favourable because can be used for leather cutting in single layer or for
synthetic cutting in multi layer.
Considering the number of sizes (8 to 10), the number of components per style and the
width fittings the required number of knives can reach 250.
The press knives have frequently accessories like prickers and punch tubes for stitch
marking and moccasin holes.
The search, storage and maintenance can be a little complex in great factories. The
utilization of special armoires for press knives can reduce that.
The travelling head press can be almost automated. Computer controlled travelling head
press although more expensive are mainly used in cutting synthetic materials in
multiplayer: its higher output (3 to 5 times more), automatic lay planning with material
gain of 5-15 % and quality consistency make them specially indicated for insole, toe
puffs, heel stiffeners, soles (from sheet materials). These machines are equipped with
material feed systems.
Automatic cutting
The cutting with press knives is the most common method. But for small orders the cost
of cutting knives become economically incompatible. In this case the hand cutting or the
automatic cutting systems are the remaining solutions.
The automatic cutting systems needs no cutting dies and gives a quick response to
production demands.
There are several types of automatic systems.
In the simpler one also called projection cutter, model pieces are projected over leather
in a visual lay planning. These systems with one or two stations are suitable for sample
and small orders cutting. The output is about 130 to 170 pairs/day for knife cutting
system (fig 7), and just to 400 pairs/day with water jet 2 stations systems (fig.8).
Figure 7: Knife cutting system. Figure 8. Water jet cutting system

Stitch and size marking and punching can be done in these automatic systems
decreasing the production output. Recent development includes machines for executing
these operations in cut pieces by laser or automatic punching.The cost of cutting dies is
reduced in press cutting machine or the production output is increased in automatic
systems.
There are also integral cutting systems (fig. 9) composed by:
• A digitizing system using video captures of the contours of leather and semi
automatic taking of the position and quality of leather faults.
• A inject marking system
• A nesting program for automatic lay planning
• A water jet cutting table with high production (1000 pair/day)
 Fig. 9.Integrated cutting system
A similar approach exists for the cutting of synthetic materials in rolls or sheets.
In next table the strengths and weaknesses of several cutting systems are summarised.

Cutting Process strengths Process weakness

process
Hand cutting • No capital outlay
• Low tooling cost: cardboards patterns
• Reduced tooling time (some hours)
Press cutting • Low cost operation on big orders
with cutting • Low to medium production rate (200-
knives 300 pairs/day/worker)
• Low maintenance and acquisition
equipment cost
Automatic • No tooling (cutting dies).
cutting • Reduced tooling time and easy
systems programming with data from CAD
systems
• Production since 130 pairs/day/worker
on simple knife cutting systems
• Production of about 400 pairs/day/2
workers on two stations water jet
projection systems
• Production rate of 1000 pairs/day
(advanced water jet systems).
• Increased motivation of worker
• Labour intensive
• Requires high operator skills
• Low production rate: 60-70
pairs/day/worker
• Only adequate for small orders and
samples with quickly demands
• The cost of cutting dies
economically unviable for small
orders (<750 pairs/size?)
• Medium operator skills
• High tolling time (3-5 days)
• High skills for correct interlocking
• High maintenance and acquisition
equipment cost
• Requires informatics and electronic
skills

The compact knife-cutting table (figure 10), is an adjusted solution for cutting
productions between 130-180 pairs/8 hours and the Water jet cutting system, (figure 11)
is more adequate to higher capacities, over 400-800 pairs/8 hours.
3.4 The stitching operations

The labour content of stitching and pre-stitching operations represents about 50% of the
whole production labour. Any profit or loose in these sections has impact at the yield
level of the company.
The use of conventional modern stitching machines under bed thread trimming, needle
positioning, automatic thread cutters, variable speed motors, etc can increase the
operators’ productivity of around 30% over older ones.
The use CNC stitching machines also allows considerable profits in productivity, and
particularly in very complex models. Also the use of palettes composed by several
sheets allows the grouping of operations, reducing in such a way the number of
operators involved.
However, the high cost of palettes and high time of programming, make this process a
viable solution only for orders over 5.000-10.000 pairs per pallet.
But once more, some factors besides the technology and machines will affect greatly the
productivity of factories:
• Bad designed and engineered models with complex stitching curves, inexistence
of stitching marks or appointing lines,
• Unnecessary extra operations.
• Bad distribution of work in progress among operatives, with excess of moving,
standing up and sitting down,
• Bad balance among workers.
For small stitching sections, with production capacities that do not exceed the 300-500
uppers/day the work organization in cells or rings with polyvalence and technical
qualification of the operators is mostly adequate (fig. 10).

Fig. 10: Work cells in a stitching line

The sophisticated equipment and technologies are in many cases inadequate

For stitching lines with 40 or more operators the use of distribution systems like the
feeder operator feeder conveyor for small and variable series, or the feeder operator
operator conveyor for long short series, are recommended. (fig.11).
 Fig. 11: Automatic stitching conveyor

A new generation of conveyors with software applications:

• Rules the sending of working boxes for the adequate working posts according the
capabilities of operator, thread colour, priorities of shoes
• Control and monitor the operator productivity, the time per model or per order, the
sample production,
• Define urgencies and priorities (for repaired or damaged shoes, for completing
deliveries, etc).
• Gives alarms on excessive working time for each operator.
With large stitching lines with more than 50-60 workers the use of automatic conveyors
linked to automatic storage and distribution system of work in progress is the most
suitable solution. (fig. 12)

Fig. 12: Automatic stitching conveyor with box warehouse

3.5 Assembly and Finishing

A traditional assembly line with 8 workers can last about 1000 pairs/8 hours of cemented
shoes.
Actually the assembly equipments incorporate already a high level of automation making
use of microprocessors, which reduces significantly the set-up time of the machines and
the change of programmes. It is the case of toe lasting machine, seat and waist
machine, automatic roughing or cementing machines. These equipments have reduced
the complexity of assembly operations and are responsible for high gains of productivity.
The substitution of some automated equipments by systems mounted in robots, namely
for roughing operations, adhesive application, handling work in progress between
machines have great impact on productivity.
However the implementation of integrated robot lines for assembling shoes (figure 12),
using a reduced number of persons will be a possibility solution for bigger companies
due to huge investment.
Integrated and robotized assembly lines needs high qualified technicians in software,
electronics, machine programming, tooling for machines. Programming is complex and
time costly and so recommended for medium and big series.
Figure 13: robot equipments in assembly line

4. Strength and weakness of automation

The investment on automation will be, on a medium and long time, necessary to reduce:
• The workforce involvement especially at the non added value operations, such as
handling and controlling materials or products;
• The complexity of the operations improving a coherent quality and conformity with
standards, in operation like lateral roughing.
If experience shows that technological obsolete companies will not survive, it is not
uncommon the difficulties of some firms who invested highly in advanced technologies.
The implementation of new technologies usually will demand:
• New operators with new skills (mechanics, computers and software, electronics,
etc)
• Additional technical and administrative tasks for supporting the new processes,
inexistent on former traditional ones (e.g. materials codification, operative
instructions, , linkage and files transfer between others systems, etc);
 • Additional tasks for programming equipments, definition of quality conditions
(temperatures, pressings, times, etc);
• Additional tasks on collecting and data management information operations;
• Higher quality demands of product engineering processes, increasing the costs
with knives, moulds, lasts, etc, when using the automation processes;
• Higher functioning and maintenance costs which are almost inexistent in the
traditional plants.
In such a way, automation can be responsible for an increase of administrative labour,
depreciation and dissatisfaction on the company staff as well as the increase of conflicts
between the new technicians and supervisors involved in the new technologies and the
old staff.
Is then essential that the Management Board elaborates a modernization plan
previewing training and motivation actions for their staff.
The implementation of an advanced integrated line is much more complex, and
demands the simultaneous availability of several technicians with different qualifications,
with priority over all other functions. The inexistence of these persons condemns the
investment to failure in a majority of cases.
Therefore, the implementation of modern and complex technologies follows almost
always a model of automation step by step, from one section to another:
• Cutting processes;
• Warehouses for raw materials and components;
• Warehouses of finished products;
• Automation of the lasting operations
• Automation of the bonding operations: roughing, adhesive application,
reactivation, press of upper and sole;
• Automation of stitching distributing (conveyor)
• Automation of the assembly conveyor.
Can the implementation of a new technological organization strengthens the advantages
of SMEs in developed countries and prevent the moving of the production sites to cheap
labour countries?
Two alternatives are pointed currently solve this question:
• The “agile” production systems, including the implementation of flexible
production lines from the design and engineering phases to cutting, stitching,
assembly and finishing, specially developed for the production of individualized
shoes.
• Segmentation of a shoe in engineered components, each of them manufactured
in a full automated production line, assembled together in the footwear company,
in a process similar to the automobile industry
The agile production systems requires the existence of advanced and flexible
equipments with reduced set-up times, auto adjustable, essentially customized to the
production of small series.
In the assembly model, the strategy of segmenting the footwear production in
independent components is strengthened. Through one rigorous design the footwear is
developed as being constituted of a set of components produced in the external small
units, with high automation level, operating 24 over 24 hours.
The design and cut of leathers, equipped with high-speed cutting systems, are already
in functioning. The same is true for soles, insoles and other bottom components. The
next step will be probably stitching.
In my opinion the delocalisation cannot be stopped, but a more significant portion of
footwear production can remain in those countries

J. Leandro de Melo
Managing Director
Centro Tecnológico do Calçado
Portugal
September, 2003.